Santa and a few helpers from the North Pole will visit five care facilities in the province to bring presents and a little extra holiday cheer to children and their families spending the festive season in hospital.

Giving the reindeer a bit of a break before the big day next week, they’ll be travelling in a BC Ambulance Service helicopter to Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. Their first stop will be in View Royal at the Victoria General Hospital, followed by the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital and stops in Vancouver, Surrey and New Westminster.

Santa will be accompanied by Ray Sims, a BC Emergency Health Services infant transport team paramedic, and Danny Sitnam, president and CEO of Helijet International.